‘Riverdale': The Black Hood Is Back, Here’s Our New Suspect List

Last week, we were treated to a special musical episode of “Riverdale” as the kids of Riverdale High put on “Carrie: The Musical.” But even more disturbing than Cheryl Blossom covered in blood was Midge crucified to the play’s backdrop with this eerie message: “I am back from the dead, all those who escaped before me will die – B.H.”

The Black Hood warned Kevin Keller, who directed the production, of violence to come, and boy, did he deliver.

So now that the Black Hood is back, we’re revamping our old suspect list, because, let’s be honest, Mr. Svenson never seemed a likely candidate for the town terrorizer. We decided to put our best Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones investigative hats on to create a suspect list of our own.

OK, the first suspect on our list is Cheryl’s uber-creepy uncle Claudius Blossom. He told her a sob story about being estranged from her dad, Cliff Blossom, but we don’t trust anything he says. Especially after we see him and Cheryl’s mom, Penelope, conspiring to get rid of Cheryl and Nana Blossom.

It’s clear that Claudius wants some power in Riverdale, but we still don’t know much about him. Whatever he’s up to, he’s shady AF, and since he didn’t show up until after the Black Hood was supposedly caught by Sheriff Keller, he has no alibi to previous transgressions.

Hiram and/or Hermione Lodge

We don’t think that Hiram and Hermione are actually carrying out any of the Black Hood’s actions on their own, but we definitely wouldn’t put it past them to hire someone to be the Black Hood for them. Obviously, the Lodges are trying to take over Riverdale by buying up nearly every property and Hermione’s mayoral run. Could they have hired the Black Hood to terrorize Riverdale just so they could swoop in to “save” the town? We wouldn’t put it past them.

One theory circling Reddit is that Kevin Keller’s dad is the Black Hood. It seems counterintuitive until you give it more thought. One Redditor pointed out that both Ms. Grundy and Fred Andrews were punished for their affairs, but Keller hasn’t: “The Hood seems to have a keen awareness of the sins committed by the citizens of Riverdale so unless Keller was responsible for every preceding murder then his unanswered blatant adultery leaves room for questions.” We have to admit, that’s pretty convincing. Others point out that because Keller’s storyline has been lax lately, it’s simply time for him to become more relevant.

Chic Cooper

To be honest, this seems too obvious, but we have to keep Betty’s long lost older bro on this list because he is so weird and mysterious.

Hal Cooper

Now that Hal has returned home with Betty and Alice, he seems a less likely candidate. But he’s still clearly salty as hell about the Chic situation and how it played out. He’s also still ultra shady considering his connection to Penelope Blossom. At this point, he also seems like too obvious a suspect. But he does have a similar build to the Black Hood we saw in the past.

A good argument for Hal, though: the Black Hood was communicating with Betty, and Hal is obviously Betty’s dad. He’s been feeling on the outside of the family for a long time now, and could have been using his daughter to take out his anger.

As one Redditor put it, “a lot of people seem to neglect the sinners who are not being targeted and when looked at seems to paint a pretty clear picture.” Basically, this theory stems from the fact that the Black Hood says he wants to wipe out the “sinners” of Riverdale, but there are several people in Riverdale that aren’t targeted who are definitely sinners. The Black Hood’s true motives are a little unclear, so it would make sense if there were actually several people acting as the murderer.

Jughead Jones

Are you guys ready for the craziest theory yet? One theory, shocking if it ended up true, is that the Black Hood is Jughead Jones himself. First of all, he has those striking green eyes (though his build is way slimmer than the Black Hood we’ve seen). When all the Black Hood drama began, he and Archie had a strained relationship — and who was the Black Hood’s first victim? Fred Andrews, Archie’s dad. Fred and Jughead’s dad F.P. also have a strained relationship, which could add some motive.

Also, the Black Hood communicates with Betty exclusively for a while earlier on in the season. Juggie is one half of Bughead, after all, so who better to push all of Betty’s buttons?

Finally, Jughead desperately wanted to eradicate Jingle Jangle to keep Southside High and the Serpents from trouble, which would give him motive to take out the Sugarman.

When it comes to motive for murdering Midge during the musical, however, we’ll have to wait for more evidence.

If you love The CW's "Riverdale," then you're probably well aware by now that the teen murder mystery show is based on the long-running "Archie" comic book franchise. If you're not an avid comics reader already, here are the top five books to pick up (you can order them here).

The CW

Riverdale Volume 1

This graphic novel takes place in the same universe as The CW series. Written by writers of the show, the stories take place between episodes and expands on the show's universe.

c/o Archie Comics

Archie Volume 1

Archie's world was revamped a few years ago, leading to fresh interest in the character. Fiona Staples--the artist of the sci-fi epic "Saga"-- and writer Mark Waid teamed up to add comedy and drama to the origin story of Archie and the gang.

c/o Archie Comics

Afterlife with Archie Volume 1

If you're a fan of "The Walking Dead" comics and want to dip your toes into the world of Riverdale, then this one might be for you. "Riverdale" showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and artist Francesco Francavilla add zombies into the Archie universe.

c/o Archie Comics

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Volume 1

Since you're a "Riverdale" fan, you've probably heard that there's a new Sabrina the Teenage Witch show in the works from The CW, too. This graphic novel will be the basis for the upcoming spin-off, and is the second Archie horror book from Aguirre-Sacasa. Robert Hack illustrates.

c/o Archie Comics

The Best of Archie Comics Deluxe Edition

If you want to get an overview of the entire history of Archie, go this "Best of" collection. It covers 75 years of stories set in the Archie universe, including classics that help to set up "Riverdale" like the origin of Pop's Choklit Shoppe and the Archie-Betty-Veronica love triangle.

c/o Archie Comics

1 of 6

From the origin stories to the horror stories, these comics are perfect for “Riverdale” fans

If you love The CW's "Riverdale," then you're probably well aware by now that the teen murder mystery show is based on the long-running "Archie" comic book franchise. If you're not an avid comics reader already, here are the top five books to pick up (you can order them here).